Kevin Harvick made great strides in his bid for a second Bank of America 500 win in the last three years when the 2014 race winner rocketed around Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday with a 27.547-second, 196.029-mph lap to win the pole for the only Saturday night race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Alex Bowman, substituting for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified second with a 27.551-second lap at 196 mph. Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott was third on Bojangles’ Pole Night with defending Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch fourth and Tony Stewart – in his final NASCAR start at Charlotte – fifth.
A.J. Allmendinger was sixth on the speed chart with Coca-Cola 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. seventh, Carl Edwards eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth and defending Bank of America 500 winner Joey Logano 10th.
Pole Winner – Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Busch Hunting Chevrolet): “I think any time you can eliminate track position (from being a problem) that is definitely a bonus for us. (Qualifying) hasn’t really been our strongest point all year. To see the speed the car had today, through all three rounds, tonight the car was just spot-on. I’m just really proud of the guys. We started in the right direction. There are just so many good teams in this deal. I think the way practice is going to go (Friday) is going to be a bit of a guess where the car needs to be for Saturday night. There are a lot of good engineers who can get it spot-on.”
Outside Pole – Alex Bowman (No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet): “I’m just so thankful to be here. It means a lot to me for Hendrick Motorsports to take a chance to let me run these races. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m trying to make the most of it. We made huge gains all through practice. I’m just really happy with our car.”
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